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My Thoughts

The old guy is not an antiques nut. Actually he thinks most of the stuff in antique stores these days is junk people peddle as valuable so they can get the crap out of their homes and clean up. Years ago, Insider did have the antique bug and enjoyed playing around with certain aspects of the fascinating trade, particularly the fall antique sales and auctions that popped up around the shore. There was something about the weather, the atmosphere, the clothing and the remote possibility of picking up a rare find. Most of the real auctions, or those worth attending anyway, took place in a back country farm house and one of the things that was most interesting was the old house itself, the gingerbread decorating the roof edges, the notched and fitted doors, the stairway railing and the old shutters. The old guy’s richest find to date, which he still has, is an old Windsor chair, which he bought at a Rehoboth Beach auction in 1971 for $4.50. The chair is strong, beautifully handmade and extremely comfortable. It’s used daily around the house and has outlasted two sets of the latest and greatest newly purchased furniture.

So it’s been hot lately. Well, let’s think some cool thoughts. Let’s think about when we were kids and about that long winter walk to the school bus everyday. About numb toes and runny noses. About ears so cold you could hardly feel them. About that first sleigh ride down the steepest of hills when you knew you would probably kill yourself, but you had to do it because the other kids were watching. Remember the flecks of snow hitting you in the face and the ice sharp wind tearing tears out of your eyes. Remember the milk bottles on the door steps with fingers of frozen cream squeezing out the top and remember the taste of that cream. Think about walking across fields of snow completely unmarked except for your solitary footprints. About vanilla flavored snow cream and long icicles hanging from a low roof. About frozen creeks and sky-searching on a Christmas eve for you know who. About those wonderful radio broadcasts that informed all there would be no school because of the heavy snowfall. About cold bathrooms and warm kitchens. About waking up in the morning to the alarm clock and hurrying to get out of bed before your big brother jumped in the hot bathtub. And think about that ever-present longing for the summer vacation when you would be sitting right where you are right now reading this.

“The best recipe for living is to laugh some and cry some but don’t become either a clown or a grouch in doing it.” – Author unknown.